JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL

The performance tells the story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a seagull who is bored with the daily squabbles over food and seized by a passion for flight. He pushes himself, learning everything he can about flying, until finally his unwillingness to conform results in his expulsion from his flock. An outcast he continues to learn, becoming increasingly pleased with his abilities as he leads an idyllic life. One day, Jonathan is met by two seagulls who take him to a ?higher plane of existence?, where he meets other gulls who love to fly. He discovers that his sheer tenacity and desire to learn make him ?a gull in a million?. Jonathan befriends the wisest gull in this new place, named Chiang, who takes him beyond his previous learning, teaching him how to move instantaneously to anywhere else in the universe. The secret, Chiang says, is to ?begin by knowing that you have already arrived?. Not satisfied with his new life, Jonathan returns to Earth to find others like him, to bring them his learning and to spread his love for flight. His mission is successful, gathering around him others who have been outlawed for not conforming. Ultimately, one of his students, Fletcher Lynd Seagull, becomes a teacher in his own right and Jonathan leaves to continue his learning.

• Novgorod theatre for children and youth ?Mali? has celebrated the 17-anniversary in 2007. Theatre ?Mali? is a member of the International association of theatres for children and youth (ASSITEJ). The theatre released 70 performances for children and youth. Being guided in the repertoire on the world classics theatre represented on stage plays by Pushkin, Gogol, Shakespeare, Hoffmann, Durrenmatt. Directors from Saint Petersburg, France, Switzerland staged in the theatre. ?Mali? took part in 21 international theatrical festivals of Russia and Europe; sixteen times the theatre was the winner and received Grand prix. The Theatre ?Mali? created the International theatrical festival «King-fairy tale», which was visited by more than sixty theatres from different places of Russia and Europe.

Director ? Nadezhda Alexeeva
Stage designer — Igor Semenov
Choreography — Elena Fedorova
Music — Tatiana Bobrova
Actors ?Oleg Zverev, Ilya Archipov, Alexey Timofeev, Elena Fedotov, Marina Vihrova

LANGUAGE OF PERFORMANCE: RUSSIAN

Duration ? 1 h. 30 with one interval .

Age ? teenagers and adults